Where do you carry
your stress? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Do you want
some help relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation offers relaxing effects especially when applied
to the cervical and thoracic spine areas. Soft Health and Healing Clinic sees
stress every day. Soft Health and Healing Clinic hears our Brooks
chiropractic patients request more spine treatment once they feel
it! Astute chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
First, how do we react to
stress? Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse and heart rate. We can feel these responses.
Researchers strive to measure these responses. Measuring
heart rate variability, blood pressure,
heart rate, and numeric pain scale after treating upper and lower cervical
spine segments of healthy and neck pain patients, researchers found
that upper cervical manipulation enhanced
parasympathetic (calming) system and lower cervical manipulation improved
sympathetic (fight or flight) activity. Interestingly, neck
pain patients’ parasympathetic activity was enhanced by
both upper and lower cervical manipulation. (1) Soft Health and Healing Clinic notes
that the effect of touch alone is powerful.
EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION ON STRESS RESPONSES
The body responds to all sorts of stimuli.
Researchers attempt to see how. One
group did a meta-analysis of multiple studies about
the effect of spinal manipulation and mobilization on cardiovascular responses.
Variations in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure
and heart rate were documented. They determined
that spinal manipulation and mobilization may result in a
significant decrease of systolic together with diastolic blood
pressure. (2) An analysis of articles about the effect of spinal manipulation
on heart rate variability stated that a larger
parasympathetic response was noted when cervical and lumbar spine
areas were treated while a greater sympathetic response was noticed
when the thoracic spine was treated. (3) Another study tied
pain response to resting blood pressure pre- and post-cervical spine non-thrust
manipulation. Non-chronic neck pain patients who underwent such manipulation had
reduced short-term pain and decreased systolic blood
pressure. (4) There is
something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and Soft Health and Healing Clinic is happy
to present the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Soft Health and Healing Clinic utilizes gentle spinal manipulation
applied to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas to reduce
pain. Spinal manipulation of the thoracic spine efficiently influences
painful mechanical thoracic spine pain better than placebo treatment. (5) Effects
of thoracic manipulation go beyond the thoracic spine. Advantages
of manipulation of the thoracic spine extend to the cervical spine
for patients with bilateral chronic mechanical neck pain. Thoracic thrust manipulation
and non-thrust mobilization deliver similar changes in patients’
pressure pain thresholds and reduce neck pain intensity. (6) These
are benefits of Brooks chiropractic care Soft Health and Healing Clinic is well-trained
to deliver.
CONTACT Soft Health and Healing Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
explains how chiropractic and The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management may well address parasympathetic
and sympathetic and pain responses in the body.
Schedule your next Brooks
chiropractic appointment today. Your neck and shoulders and upper
back will be grateful for the attention as will your reduced
pain and heart rate and blood pressure after a gentle Brooks spinal
manipulation session.